HTPerformance
New Member
Well fellas I have been modding for the past year. I will go over what mods I have and what my reactions have been.
My first mod was a set of stock rims with Falken Azenis RT-615 tires and must I say that these were by far the best mod thus far. They are such an improvement over the stock Conti's. They are so sticky that I have been unable to chirp them until tonight...which I will get to.
Next mod I did was a more aesthetic mod. For some reason Ford Mexico decided to neglect to paint the rear hatch trim on all 2002 models, so I bought a silver 2003 trim piece to perty up the rear end a bit.
I installed a little on/off switch to defeat the ABS/TC system and installed it on the fuse panel cover. Looks pretty nice with a subtle black RadioShack job. This has made straight line takeoffs much more enjoyable instead of bogging everytime. I had also noticed the dash lights flickering at night, so I installed some grounding wires in the engine bay and this helped tremendously.
I picked up a Diablosports Predator with a tune for an ORP and AEM CAI, none of which I had, but had anticipate them coming, so I have it installed and it has really helped level out the car, improved the idle and bogging situation. Noticeable power/torque gains. I like it! Money well spent.
Next up was switching to copper Motorcraft AZFS22CF4 (aka SP463) spark plugs. And also installing a MSD coilpack and wires. These really upped the performance nicely I would highly recommend them.
At about the same time I had sent in a stock Throttle body to Focus Salvage in NJ to have it bored/ported to 65mm and a new butterfly plate installed. This really woke up the engines responsiveness. I really love this piece!
I have installed the VF engineering rearmount along with a Steeda Short Throw shifter. Unfortunately the previous owner of the steeda forgot to send me the spacer plate, so I had to custom make one out of some ABS plastic that I had lying around. A 1.25" wood drill works well for the center, then drill the 6 holes in it (4 for screws, 2 for positioning points). These made the shifting so much better. The stock shifter really is trucklike. The rearmount VFE piece helped cleanup the shifting especially under load.
Next I installed the other two VF engineering motor mounts. Boy! These are great pieces, well engineered and an ease to install. These really help transfer the power to the ground and keep the car planted eliminating nasty wheelhop.
I have got a generic ebay cai for the standard focus which is much too long due to the difference in the TB location. I hacked it up a bit and got 2 couplers and a generic Cone filter at Autozone, wow! much better intake tone and the difference in pickup is unreal. The car screams to 7k like never before!! I think the stock airbox is definitely quite restrictive and this needed to happen.
More to come:
- Random Technologies High-Flow Catalytic Converter
- Custom made underdrive crank pulley (only 3" diameter)
- Sean Hyland Rear Swaybar (23mm)
- KYB AGX adjustable dampers and Intrax Springs
- Mach/optional SVT HID Headlamps
- Polyurethane bushings in front control arms
My first mod was a set of stock rims with Falken Azenis RT-615 tires and must I say that these were by far the best mod thus far. They are such an improvement over the stock Conti's. They are so sticky that I have been unable to chirp them until tonight...which I will get to.
Next mod I did was a more aesthetic mod. For some reason Ford Mexico decided to neglect to paint the rear hatch trim on all 2002 models, so I bought a silver 2003 trim piece to perty up the rear end a bit.
I installed a little on/off switch to defeat the ABS/TC system and installed it on the fuse panel cover. Looks pretty nice with a subtle black RadioShack job. This has made straight line takeoffs much more enjoyable instead of bogging everytime. I had also noticed the dash lights flickering at night, so I installed some grounding wires in the engine bay and this helped tremendously.
I picked up a Diablosports Predator with a tune for an ORP and AEM CAI, none of which I had, but had anticipate them coming, so I have it installed and it has really helped level out the car, improved the idle and bogging situation. Noticeable power/torque gains. I like it! Money well spent.
Next up was switching to copper Motorcraft AZFS22CF4 (aka SP463) spark plugs. And also installing a MSD coilpack and wires. These really upped the performance nicely I would highly recommend them.
At about the same time I had sent in a stock Throttle body to Focus Salvage in NJ to have it bored/ported to 65mm and a new butterfly plate installed. This really woke up the engines responsiveness. I really love this piece!
I have installed the VF engineering rearmount along with a Steeda Short Throw shifter. Unfortunately the previous owner of the steeda forgot to send me the spacer plate, so I had to custom make one out of some ABS plastic that I had lying around. A 1.25" wood drill works well for the center, then drill the 6 holes in it (4 for screws, 2 for positioning points). These made the shifting so much better. The stock shifter really is trucklike. The rearmount VFE piece helped cleanup the shifting especially under load.
Next I installed the other two VF engineering motor mounts. Boy! These are great pieces, well engineered and an ease to install. These really help transfer the power to the ground and keep the car planted eliminating nasty wheelhop.
I have got a generic ebay cai for the standard focus which is much too long due to the difference in the TB location. I hacked it up a bit and got 2 couplers and a generic Cone filter at Autozone, wow! much better intake tone and the difference in pickup is unreal. The car screams to 7k like never before!! I think the stock airbox is definitely quite restrictive and this needed to happen.
More to come:
- Random Technologies High-Flow Catalytic Converter
- Custom made underdrive crank pulley (only 3" diameter)
- Sean Hyland Rear Swaybar (23mm)
- KYB AGX adjustable dampers and Intrax Springs
- Mach/optional SVT HID Headlamps
- Polyurethane bushings in front control arms
